• Featured in Physics
  • Editors' Suggestion
  • Open Access

Explaining the XENON1T Excess with Luminous Dark Matter

Nicole F. Bell, James B. Dent, Bhaskar Dutta, Sumit Ghosh, Jason Kumar, and Jayden L. Newstead
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 161803 – Published 12 October 2020
Physics logo See synopsis: Theorists React to Potential Signal in Dark Matter Detector

Abstract

We show that the excess in electron recoil events seen by the XENON1T experiment can be explained by a relatively low-mass luminous dark matter candidate. The dark matter scatters inelastically in the detector (or the surrounding rock) to produce a heavier dark state with a 23keV mass splitting. This heavier state then decays within the detector, producing a peak in the electron recoil spectrum that is a good fit to the observed excess. We comment on the ability of future direct detection experiments to differentiate this model from other “beyond the standard model” scenarios and from possible tritium backgrounds, including the use of diurnal modulation, multichannel signals, etc., as possible distinguishing features of this scenario.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 25 June 2020
  • Accepted 9 September 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.161803

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & AstrophysicsParticles & Fields

synopsis

Key Image

Theorists React to Potential Signal in Dark Matter Detector

Published 12 October 2020

A tantalizing signal reported by the XENON1T dark matter experiment has sparked theorists to investigate explanations involving new physics.

See more in Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Nicole F. Bell1,*, James B. Dent2,†, Bhaskar Dutta3,‡, Sumit Ghosh3,§, Jason Kumar4,∥, and Jayden L. Newstead1,¶

  • 1ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, School of Physics, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
  • 2Department of Physics, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas 77341, USA
  • 3Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA
  • 4Department of Physics, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA

  • *Corresponding author. n.bell@unimelb.edu.au
  • Corresponding author. jbdent@shsu.edu
  • Corresponding author. ghosh@tamu.edu
  • §Corresponding author. dutta@physics.tamu.edu
  • Corresponding author. jkumar@hawaii.edu
  • Corresponding author. jayden.newstead@unimelb.edu.au

See Also

XENON1T Excess from Anomaly-Free Axionlike Dark Matter and Its Implications for Stellar Cooling Anomaly

Fuminobu Takahashi, Masaki Yamada, and Wen Yin
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 161801 (2020)

Neutrino Self-Interactions and XENON1T Electron Recoil Excess

Andreas Bally, Sudip Jana, and Andreas Trautner
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 161802 (2020)

Boosted Dark Matter Interpretation of the XENON1T Excess

Bartosz Fornal, Pearl Sandick, Jing Shu, Meng Su, and Yue Zhao
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 161804 (2020)

Electric But Not Eclectic: Thermal Relic Dark Matter for the XENON1T Excess

Joseph Bramante and Ningqiang Song
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 161805 (2020)

Article Text

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 125, Iss. 16 — 16 October 2020

Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×